New-to-me, from EMS World: Database of Key 9-1-1 State Legislation Now Available. “Since 2012, the 9-1-1 Legislation Tracking Database has served as a resource for states looking to improve their emergency communications operations or gather insight into neighboring legislative efforts. It allows states to easily compare recently enacted—or modifications to existing—laws involving 9-1-1.”
KFVS: Interactive website teaches children about 9/11. “On the 19th anniversary of 9/11, teachers are trying to explain this part of our relatively recent past to students who were not born at that time. Now, a Kentucky-based organization is helping educators with the tools to make the learning experience more interactive.”
RadioResource International: Database Tracks States’ 2019 9-1-1-Related Legislation. “The National 911 Program and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) made a database that summarizes 2019 key enacted legislation available. Since 2012, the database has served as a resource for states looking to gather insight into neighboring legislative efforts or improve their emergency communications operations. The information allows states to easily compare recently enacted laws or modifications to existing laws involving 9-1-1.”
The Verge: Newly recovered Ground Zero photos show why you should back up your CD-Rs now. “When comedian and activist Jon Stewart gave an impassioned speech before Congress to seek ongoing aid for 9/11 first responders, it inspired Internet Archive software curator and digital preservationist Jason Scott to share something timely with the world as well: a newly discovered cache of photos from one of the workers who toiled away at Ground Zero, and who’d saved thousands of those photos on CD-R.”
Motherboard: Why Did YouTube Mass Recommend That People Watch News Footage of the 9/11 Attacks?. “Earlier this month, a two-hour newscast from CNN on the morning of the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks started showing up in the recommended section of many users’ feeds, prompting people to question, ‘What did I watch for this to be recommended to me?’ The video itself was uploaded more than five years ago by an account exclusively full of other videos from Sept. 11, 2001 and news coverage of the attacks from that day.”
Miami Herald: Do Trump’s tweets contaminate 9/11 trial? War court judge to decide.. “President Donald Trump’s incendiary remarks about military justice stirred a dramatic exchange in a hearing Thursday for the accused conspirators of the 9/11 attacks, with defense lawyers arguing that the commander-in-chief exerted unlawful influence. At issue are Trump’s remarks on Twitter and in person about the decision to give no prison time to Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl and to urge the death penalty on a man who had not yet been charged for driving a van through a New York City bike path, killing eight people.”
Ubergizmo: Google Testing Methods To Help 911 Locate Mobile Callers Accurately. “It’s easier for 911 operators to locate a caller when the call has been made using a landline but it takes more time to do that when a call is made using a cellphone. As you can probably imagine, more people make such calls using their cell phones now than ever before which is why there’s a need to help 911 locate mobile callers more effectively. This is where Google comes in.”
CIA: CIA Releases Nearly 470,000 Additional Files Recovered in May 2011 Raid on Usama Bin Ladin’s Compound. “The CIA today released to the public nearly 470,000 additional files recovered in the May 2011 raid on Usama Bin Ladin’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. CIA Director Mike Pompeo authorized the release in the interest of transparency and to enhance public understanding of al-Qa‘ida and its former leader.”
University of Texas at Austin: NSF Backs Research into Role of Social Media “Calls” for Help during Hurricane Harvey. “During Hurricane Harvey, victims unable to connect with overloaded 911 call systems turned to social media to plead for assistance. In turn, volunteer groups including the ‘Cajun Navy’ used social media to identify those in need of help and to coordinate rescue efforts. To study the role of social media in aiding Hurricane Harvey victims, researchers from The University of Texas at Austin’s Moody College of Communication have received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study how individuals in need of emergency help use social media. Researchers will also look at how first-responders use social media alongside traditional 911 calls when dispatching help.”
Smithsonian: The day I decided not to collect: A curator’s view of Ground Zero . “About a month after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, I received a phone call from a colleague asking if I wanted to take a trip up to New York City to collect objects from Ground Zero for the museum. Although now a curator with the sports collection, at the time I was the curator of the fire and rescue collections and he thought I would like to collect from the fire and rescue personnel on site. I hesitated for a minute, knowing this would not be an easy scene to witness, but accepted his invitation.”
ABC News: Smart home device alerts New Mexico authorities to alleged assault. “A smart home device alerted authorities to an alleged assault at a residence in New Mexico earlier this week. Eduardo Barros was house-sitting with his girlfriend and her daughter Sunday night at a residence in Tijeras, some 15 miles east of Albuquerque. The couple got into an argument and the altercation became physical, according to the Bernalillo County Sheriff Department’s spokesperson, Deputy Felicia Romero.”
The Bridge: How Social Media Became the New 911 Call. “By the time New York City’s aging 911 system marks its 50th anniversary next year, it will be largely surpassed by the new way citizens interact with authorities in case of emergency: through social media. When fires break out, flash floods strike, or cranes collapse, the city gets its richest and often fastest flow of information from New Yorkers via their mobile phones.”
Yikes! Apparently an iPhone bug can force iPhones to repeatedly dial 911. “Last month, we covered the arrest of a teenager who utilized a bug to spread a malicious link on Twitter that forced iPhones to repeatedly call 911. And now, we finally know how the bug actually works.”
A little outside my remit but I think it’s important: Hawaii has launched a text-to-911 service. “Gov. David Ige announced today that Hawaiʻi has launched an enhanced 911 service allowing residents to report an emergency to 911 as a text message. Text-to-911 can support plain text Short Messaging Services (SMS) messages only and is limited to 160 characters per text. Pictures, videos and emojis currently cannot be processed. In addition, callers must have active wireless service including a text or data plan, and the device’s location service must be turned on. Text-to-911 may not be available if the wireless phone is roaming or outside of the provider’s coverage area.”
Facebook’s trending stories algorithm is turning out to be a trainwreck. (Why does Facebook even need trending stories?) “Facebook’s trending news algorithm has failed once again. Earlier today, Facebook users who clicked on the “9/11″ trending topic on the social network were directed to a tabloid story by The Daily Star, which claimed that bombs destroyed the World Trade Center towers. As The Washington Post reports, the story was quickly removed after they contacted Facebook.”
